88 per cent hospitality entrepreneurs regularly suffer from no-shows

Guests insufficiently aware of financial pain and consequences for restaurants

Almost ninety per cent (88%) of hospitality entrepreneurs in the Netherlands suffer at least once a month from no-shows, or guests who fail to honour their reservations without any notice. This is according to a collective survey by checkout and payment platform Lightspeed (NYSE: LSPD) (TSX: LSPD) and reservation software Zenchef among 250 hospitality entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. For 31 per cent of these catering establishments, this even happens several times a week. The consequences are substantial: possible loss of revenue, inefficient staff planning, food waste and empty tables that cannot be filled by spontaneous visitors. 

Impact of 'empty tables' much wider

Over a quarter (28%) of business owners cite loss of revenue as the biggest loss due to no-shows. However, the consequences go beyond missed revenue. If guests who made reservations do not show up, there may end up being too many staff on the floor. In addition, empty tables come at the expense of the atmosphere, which can negatively impact guests' experience.

A large majority (92%) of hospitality operators feel that guests are not sufficiently aware of the impact of no-shows on a hospitality business. In addition, four in five (80%) believe that hospitality guests should be better educated about the importance of respecting their reservation. Over 85 per cent think guests should inform them if their arrival time or number of people changes. 

Minimising chance of no-shows

Although more than a third (35%) of hospitality operators say they do not take measures to combat no-shows, many hospitality operators are deploying technology to reduce the chances of this happening. For example, a vast majority (83%) send reminder emails prior to a reservation, and 16 per cent ask guests for a deposit during the reservation. One in 10 restaurants takes a more personal approach by calling guests a day in advance to reconfirm the reservation. With these measures, hospitality operators are ensuring better communication with their guests, reducing the number of no-shows.

"No-shows can lead to unnecessary staff costs and missed opportunities," said Emine Youssef, Regional Director Benelux Hospitality at Lightspeed. "Smart reservation technology helps hospitality operators reduce no-shows and work more efficiently. With the data from the reservation system, they gain more insight into guest behaviour, and so they can prevent no-shows or at least predict them with more precision, which can contribute to fewer lost sales and empty tables."

Edgar Rouwenhorst, CMO at Zenchef: "No-shows are a big challenge for restaurants. In other sectors, such as cinema or concerts, it is quite normal to pay in advance, why should it be different in the hospitality industry? With our software, we help restaurants reduce last-minute cancellations, reducing the number of no-shows to just 1.5 per cent on average. This way, restaurant owners can not only protect their revenue, but also provide a better guest experience."